These brilliant long lost photos capture life at a famous Liverpool brewery back in the 1980s.
One of Liverpool’s most well-known brewing names, Higsons was an institution in the city for over 200 years. Founded in 1780, generations of beer lovers in the city have loved a Higsons pint, or worked for the company itself.
Best known for its cask bitter, the brewery was also renowned for its punning beermats of "Famous Old Higsonians", with characters including Birk’n’Head, Ann Field, Wallace E Tunnel and secret agent M62. It always kept its roots in the city centre, from its early days on 64 Dale Street, when a small brewery was established by a Mr William Harvey.
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On his death in 1838, William left part of the brewery to his brother Enoch and nephew Robert, who later took complete control of the business when Enoch died in 1843 The business was then past to a Thomas Howard before a young Daniel Higson, a book keeper, became office manager and later acquired the business.
He ran the business for several years before the name changed. By 1888, Daniel Higson Ltd was registered as a private limited company.
According to Love Lane Brewery, on the eve of the First World War, the business moved to Upper Parliament Street as the brewery bought Robert Cain and Sons, as they purchased the Walker Cains Brewery on Stanhope Street. Years later, the firm was bought by Joseph Jones & Co and had 70 public houses.
The first recorded Higsons public house appears to have been The Stanley in Stanley Road, Kirkdale. Serving millions of gallons to the people of Merseyside through the years, Higsons pub empire also extended to the Fylde coast, Rochdale, Stockport, Chester and Abergele in North Wales
In 1962, Higson’s headquarters was at North Street in Liverpool and the brand continued to expand through the decades until the name was bought by Boddington’s of Manchester in 1985. Rediscovered images from our archives, Mirrorpix, capture what the business was like back in the eighties.
Unseen for years, they capture life inside the brewery and some of the faces who worked there. The photographs also show a number of Higsons pubs and the barmaids who worked there.
In 1980, Higsons also celebrated its bicentenary. At the time, The Liverpool ECHO printed a 12-page pull out on the history of the business and its celebrations, which also included advertisements from other local businesses congratulating Higsons on 200 years in the city.
The Liverpool ECHO recently rediscovered lost photos of Higsons from the 1980s. You can take a look yourself by clicking the photo gallery below.
At the time, the ECHO spoke to Gerry Corlett, head of one of Merseyside's oldest family businesses that in 1980 employed 2,000 people in Liverpool. Gerry was advised by his grandfather to get stuck into the business.
The article reads: "Fifty-five years old Gerry Corlett, head of the Higsons’ empire, is a paternalistic sort of person, intensely proud of his 200-year-old firm. He is also refreshing in his belief in Merseyside, as an area; delighted that as Higsons celebrates its bicentenary, his company and Merseyside remain as intricately linked as they have ever done."
Gerry said: "There have been a lot of problems for us in keeping the firm going. We have had to make certain sacrifices. It would have paid me to sell out and I would undoubtable be better off financially sitting in the Isle of Man, not working. But that is not my way."
In the 1980s, many will remember seeing the Higsons wagons driving through the streets, making deliveries to their local pubs. At the time, Higson pubs included the Nook in Griffiths Street, The Sefton Arms in Aintree, The Grapes in Mathew Street, The Primrose in Wallasey and The Wirral Hundred in Noctorum.
In the bicentenary feature, bottling manager Harry Bell said: "We are very much a family unit here. Everyone changes round from specialised areas, and we all try to mis in to get the job done. Most of the employees here are from the immediate neighbourhood and the family tradition in brewing still remains of different members of the same family working for the same firm."
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To celebrate bicentenary, Higsons customers were also given a chance to join in the celebrations. One Saturday, the brewery knocked 4p off the price of its draught bitter and mild sold in managed houses.
In 1982, Harry Bell, manager of the bottle hall, also told the ECHO that more 13,000,000 bottles a year passed through the factory office. That same year, a new brewhouse on Stanhope Street was opened by Lord Derby, part of the companies £6m project, with the aim to make it one of the most modern breweries in Europe.
Do you remember Higsons? Let us know in the comments section below.
The name was bought by Boddington’s of Manchester in 1985 and the firm was part and parcel of life in Liverpool and well beyond until 1990 when the last pint was brewed. That year, Whitbread bought the brand, before the Higson’s Stanhope brewery closed.
But that wasn't the end of the Higsons name in Liverpool. In the 21st century, we saw a revival.
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In 2016, the Liverpool ECHO reported how the famous Higsons name was back as new brewery plans took a step forward and later work began on transforming two dilapidated warehouses in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. Today, Love Lane brewery is home to one of the oldest names in Liverpool brewing, as well as The Ginsmiths of Liverpool’s award-winning gins.
To find out more about Love Lane Brewery, click here.
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